Simplicity versus showy virtuosity
Maybe I’m getting old or my tastes are too narrow but, after watching several concerts and musicians at Celtic Connections (Not exclusive to there, of course), I realised that the most enjoyable music for me was that which was most simple and straight foward—-not be confused with *easy*, as a lot of it is very tricky and was played extremely well by outstanding musicians. However, the more "clever" and "fancy" certain players tried to become, the less I enjoyed the music. In fact, without naming names, I found some of it quite boring.
Of course, I realise that many of the young virtuoso musicians might feel a bit restricted within the realms of traditional music and want to prove themselves. However, I don’t think the results are always very successful. I’m not talking about speed, variations/ornamenations here and there, imaginative arrangements, new ideas for rhythym etc i.e all the more accepted innovations but, sometimes, there can be so much deviation from the original "tune" that it is either unrecognizable or goes completely against the grain.
I realise that I’m generalising a bit here so please feel to agree, disagree, call me a boring old f-rt etc.
John